Dog meat restaurants empty, alternative summer delicacies thrive after ban

Social Affairs

Published: 16 Jul. 2024, 17:57 Updated: 16 Jul. 2024, 19:05

Dog meat restaurants empty, alternative summer delicacies thrive after ban

Bosintang Street in Gyeongdong Market, Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul, is empty at 11:30 a.m. on Monday. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Although Monday marked chobok, the first of the three hottest days of summer known as boknal, a once bustling street in Seoul with dog meat restaurants was eerily quiet. Instead, people flocked to establishments serving chicken soups, eel and other energy-boosting dishes.

On boknal, many Koreans eat highly nutritious dishes to combat the sweltering heat, and one such dish is bosintang, a hot stew with boiled dog meat, which has long been a traditional and popular choice.

However, this tradition is rapidly fading.

A customer in his 60s buys dog meat from a retailer in Gyeongdong Market, Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul, on Monday. [JOONGANG ILBO]

At 11:30 a.m. on Monday, a bosintang restaurant in Gyeongdong Market in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul, was deserted.

In the 1980s and 1990s, people descended on the market in droves for its bosintang street, which was home to more than 22 dog meat restaurants. Now, only about five shops remain.

“What's the point of boknal when there aren't even customers on regular days?” lamented Ahn, the 67-year-old owner of the bosintang establishment. “I have listed the restaurant for sale to close the business.”

The decline of the dog meat industry follows a bill that went into effect in February. Driven by rising pet ownership and growing animal rights awareness, the National Assembly passed the special bill in January that bans the breeding, butchering, distribution and sale of dog meat with a three-year grace period.

Starting in February 2027, violations will incur penalties of up to three years in prison or a fine of 30 million won ($21,670).

Ahn criticized the bill, arguing it would force them out of business. “The dog meat business would disappear on its own anyway in 10 to 20 years since only the elderly consume it nowadays,” he said.

Acknowledging public sentiment and stricter government crackdowns, Ahn removed “dog” from his storefront signs and menu.

"Although my livelihood is at stake, I am hopeless when the government just tells us to quit selling dog meat," Ahn said.

A storefront sign reads ″black goat soup,″ though traces of the old sign ″bosintang″ are still visible. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Bae Hyun-dong, a 77-year-old bosintang vendor who has been in the market for 59 years, recently made black goat soup his "main menu" and changed his storefront sign, though traces of the old sign are still visible.

His store, too, was deserted. At noon on Monday, only a single table with two people was occupied.

“Since last year, more customers have asked if we sell dog meat. They think we don't sell it anymore after the change of storefront sign,” Bae said. He and his wife now run the store alone, having let go of several employees with the decreasing number of customers.

The situation was similar in the once busy street of dog meat restaurants in Sinjin Market in Jongno District, central Seoul.

“We have so much unsold dog meat,” said Lee, a 62-year-old restaurateur with a 60-year family history in the business.

She’s considering reducing staff or adjusting business hours to cut costs as sales dropped to a quarter of their previous level.

Some elderly customers who visited the market for a hot bowl of dog meat stew saw no issue eating the dish, viewing it as part of Korean culture.

“Eating dog meat on chobok is part of our generation's tradition,” said Park Jong-yoon, 68, criticizing the government's quick ban without sufficient public discussion. Lee Jin-sung, 71, agreed with Park while warning of the potential birth of underground markets in unsanitary conditions with sudden restrictions.

Patrons wait in a long line at the newly opened chicken soup restaurant in Sinjin Market, Jongno District, central Seoul, at 11:30 a.m. on Monday.

On the other hand, restaurants serving alternative energy-boosting dishes like baeksuk, or chicken soup, eel and black goat are booming.

A newly opened baeksuk restaurant was fully booked by 11:30 a.m., with a long waiting list.

“We opened the store a month ago targeting people who want dog meat," a black goat restaurant owner said. "We are likely to hit our highest sales since opening, thanks to the boknal.”

Dog meat restaurant owners say flyers from black goat suppliers flood their mailboxes, suggesting menu changes to black goat.

An employee at a restaurant serving bosintang, a hot stew featuring boiled dog meat, boils the meat outside the establishment. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Eel restaurants are also seeing a surge in demand. “The dog meat ban has shifted demand to black goat, boosting our sales by 50 percent,” said an eel restaurant owner.

With the new law mandating industry stakeholders to shut down or transition their businesses by February 2027, the government is considering a compensation plan. The bosintang restaurant owners must submit their closure or transition plans by Aug. 5 to be eligible for future governmental support.

The Korea Dog Meat Farmers' Association is adamant that a compensation plan must be set before any other measures are taken, demanding two million won per dog to cover operating losses.

"We cannot abide by the dog meat ban if the government does not provide a specific support plan by the end of this month,” said Joo Young-bong, the head of the nationwide association of dog meat farmers. He added that the association is considering filing a lawsuit against the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs if the situation worsens.

Local traders echo this call, seeking financial support to sustain their livelihoods after the three-year deadline.

However, the government considers the association's compensation demands excessive. “We believe the estimated losses by farmers are overstated,” said a ministry official, adding they are currently examining ways to provide support at a reasonable level.

The government expects the compensation plans, including cash assistance fund, to be detailed by September or October.

BY KIM SEO-WON, LEE CHANG-KYU, WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]